The ACT Government is contributing to the Blue Tree Project to smash the stigma around mental health.
The Blue Tree Project is a mental health initiative. The Project’s mission is to help spark important conversations and encourage people to speak up.
In 2023, the ACT Government launched the Blue Tree Project in the ACT by painting our first blue tree along Hindmarsh Drive in Lyons.
Painting a tree blue is a positive, non-confrontational conversation starter around the issues of mental health and suicide prevention. By spreading the paint and spreading the message ‘it’s OK to not be OK’, we can help break down the stigma that’s still largely attached to mental health.
The Blue Tree’s ethos aligns with the ACT Government’s vision for a kind, connected and informed community working together to promote and protect the mental health and wellbeing of all.
Any trees that have been painted are not living and do not contain significant habitat elements. The paint is non-toxic and an ecological survey of the trees is undertaken to ensure wildlife and any nesting birds are not disturbed.
Cultural assessments are carried out when selecting a tree to be painted to make sure the tree holds no cultural significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Trees have been painted blue across Canberra in:
- Lyons: along Hindmarsh Drive next to the Tuggeranong Parkway exit ramp.
- Acton: on Clunies Ross Street between the Australian National University and Australian National Botanic Gardens.
- Gowrie: on the corner of Ashley Drive and Statton Street.
The Blue Tree in Gowrie
in the mutter of traffic
magpie calls lilt and twine
here near the underpass
in the tremble of everyday
the rush and rhythm of its breath
tree shadows ripple
wind cool off the Brindabellas
graffiti shouts LOVE IS THE WAY
what if you don’t feel it
as you walk, cycle, drive
run, wander, work, as you rest
or shelter where you can
what if feelings fall
like leaves or thrash like
branches in the storms
a beat out of time rises
follows then leaps within
today we paint a dead tree blue
in Ngunnawal country
on the corner of Ashley and Statton
we meet to paint and talk
the blue tree gives us words to start
gives time as we paint, and people will ask
like us, why is this tree blue
why are all those trees painted blue
why might we feel like this
what can we do
how can we be?
© Sarah St Vincent Welch 2025
The Blue Tree in Lyons
the Yellow Box rattles in the wind
dead branches entwined with sky
trunk brushed in blue
at the turnoff drivers ask
why’s that tree
got a blue coat?
passengers wonder
strollers and joggers pause
ask why is blue so sad
a silence
inside
when it’s also sky and sea
why is it too hard to say
something’s really wrong?
socks paired face washed hair brushed
we make ourselves look better than we are
so no one sees our shuddering shame
my thoughts are worried leaves
in a storm
my mind is bark eaten away
my job is too much I think I’m done
how will I make money to pay my rent
let alone my debt
my family was stolen and my land
my body doesn’t feel like me
thrashing limbs I can’t stop
so scared I’ll be ripped away
I’m different to anyone I’ve ever met
they left me
I was hurt too much
where can I live
where can I be safe?
my love is not accepted
I asked for help but it’s too much
this pain has done me in
lopped branch after branch
the world has raced ahead of me
I’m lonely
people will think
why is that tree in Lyons blue?
ask have you seen that big blue tree?
people on the drive to work
to the shops to visit
kids walking home from school
don’t know what to say
might make it worse?
ask why is that tree blue?
it’s a start to find a way to say
there’s something really wrong
this feeling it’s not leaving
or I am worried about our friend
so why is that tree blue?
in the listening and speaking
here in Country
in Lyons right near Woden
in the valley near the creek
we might find a way to hear
to say
yes I’ll listen
we can try to talk
I’ll sit with you
I’ll come
Sarah St Vincent Welch © 2023
Learn more or see the full tree list on the Blue Tree Project website.
This project is an ACT Government collaboration between the Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing and City and Environment Directorate.
Ashley Drive tree being painted blue.
Clunie Ross Street tree being painted blue.
Hindmarsh Drive tree being painted blue.